Mycologia, 98(6), 2006, pp. 860–871. # 2006 by The Mycological Society of America, Lawrence, KS 66044-8897 A molecular phylogeny of the flagellated fungi (Chytridiomycota) and description of a new phylum (Blastocladiomycota) Timothy Y. James1 its morphological circumscription. The Blastocla- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, diales appears to be the sister taxon of most North Carolina 27708 nonflagellated fungi. Based on molecular phyloge- Peter M. Letcher netic and ultrastructural characters this order is Department of Biological Sciences, University of elevated to a phylum, the Blastocladiomycota. Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487 Key words: Blastocladiomycota, Chytridiales, holocarpic, kinetosome, phylogeny, zoospore Joyce E. Longcore ultrastructure Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469 INTRODUCTION Sharon E. Mozley-Standridge David Porter The Chytridiomycota is a phylum of Fungi that Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, reproduces through the production of motile spores Athens, Georgia 30605 (zoospores), typically propelled by a single, poster- Martha J. Powell iorly directed flagellum. These organisms, often Department of Biological Sciences, University of referred to as chytrid fungi or chytrids, have a global Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487 distribution with approximately 1000 described spe- cies. Based on biochemical characteristics, including Gareth W. Griffith chitin in cell walls, the a-aminoadipic acid lysine Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales SY23 3DA, UK synthetic pathway and storage carbohydrates as glycogen, Bartnicki-Garcia (1970) classified the Chy- Rytas Vilgalys tridiomycota as true Fungi. Others considered chy- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, trids as a transitional group between protists and North Carolina 27708 Fungi because of their production of motile zoo- spores (Barr 1990). Phylogenetic studies with ribo- somal RNA genes unified these views and conclusively Abstract: Chytridiomycota (chytrids) is the only demonstrated that chytrids were true Fungi that phylum of true Fungi that reproduces with motile occupied a basal position in the fungal tree (e.g. spores (zoospores). Chytrids currently are classified Fo¨rster et al 1990). into five orders based on habitat, zoospore characters Chytrids are essentially ubiquitous, occurring in and life cycles. In this paper we estimate the diverse and unique habitats from the tropics to the phylogeny of the chytrids with DNA sequences from arctic regions (Powell 1993). They are found in the ribosomal RNA operon (18S+5.8S+28S subunits). aquatic systems such as streams, ponds, and estuarine To our surprise the morphologically reduced para- and marine ecosystems primarily as parasites of algae sites Olpidium and Rozella comprise two entirely new, and plankton components. Perhaps the majority of and separate, lineages on the fungal tree. Olpidium chytrid species occur in terrestrial habitats (Barr brassicae groups among the Zygomycota, and Rozella spp. are the earliest branch to diverge in the fungal 2001) such as forest, agricultural and desert soils, kingdom. The phylogeny also suggests that Chytri- and acidic bogs as saprotrophs of refractory substrata diomycota is not monophyletic and there are four including pollen, chitin, keratin and cellulose. In soil major lineages of chytrids: Rozella spp., Olpidium chytrids are obligate parasites of a wide variety of brassicae, the Blastocladiales and a ‘‘core chytrid vascular plants, including potatoes (Synchytrium) and clade’’ containing the remaining orders and families curcurbits (Olpidium). The only known chytrid and the majority of flagellated fungi. Within the core parasite of vertebrates is Batrachochytrium dendrobati- chytrid group 11 subclades can be identified, each of dis (Longcore et al 1999), considered the causative which correlates well with zoospore ultrastructure or agent of die-offs and population declines of amphib- morphology. We provide a synopsis of each clade and ian species (Berger et al 1998). In most habitats a few chytrid species are relatively frequent and abundant Accepted for publication 6 September 2006. (i.e. Chytriomyces hyalinus in freshwater and Rhizoph- 1 Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] lyctis rosea in agricultural and perturbed soils), 860 JAMES ET AL:PHYLOGENY OF CHYTRID FUNGI 861 whereas most species are infrequent and scarce to Chytridiales is the largest of the orders (more than 75 rare (Letcher and Powell 2001, Letcher et al 2004a). genera) and the classification of this group has been The most prominent morphological feature of the variously approached using developmental, sporan- chytrid body, or thallus, is the sporangium (FIG. 1). gial and more recently ultrastructural characters. The sporangium is a sac-like structure in which Sparrow (1960) considered the operculum to be internal divisions of the protoplasm result in pro- a defining characteristic and created two series of duction of zoospores. These zoospore-producing families based on whether sporangia were operculate. sporangia (zoosporangia) are thin-walled (FIG. 1k) In contrast Whiffen (1944), Roane and Paterson whereas resting spores are thick-walled structures (1974) and Barr (1978) suggested development could (FIG. 1a, l) that may germinate to produce a sporan- be used to divide the Chytridiales into families. gium after a dormant period. Zoosporangia always are Systems of classification based on morphology and produced asexually, but resting spores may be those based on development of the thallus and sexually or asexually formed. Eucarpic chytrids are sporangium both have been shown by molecular those that consist of a sporangium and filamentous phylogenetics to be inaccurate in defining genera and rhizoids (FIG. 1k). In contrast holocarpic chytrids families of Chytridiales (James et al 2000, Letcher et al produce thalli that are entirely converted to sporangia 2004b). during reproduction. Chytrid thalli can be either Molecular phylogenies with 18S rDNA have sug- monocentric, in which an individual produces only gested that both the Chytridiomycota and Chytri- a single sporangium (FIG. 1g), or polycentric, in diales might not be monophyletic ( James et al 2000). which an individual is composed of multiple sporan- Phylogenies based on data from entire mitochondrial gia produced on a network of rhizoids termed genomes (Seif et al 2005) have suggested strongly that a rhizomycelium (FIG. 1j). Classically chytrids also two main lineages exist within the Chytridiomycota— were described on the basis of whether they grow on the Blastocladiales and the remaining four orders (epibiotic, FIG. 1h) or within (endobiotic, FIG. 1a) (the ‘‘core chytrid clade’’). In this paper we present their substrate. Other characteristics historically used a new dataset that includes an analysis of most chytrid for taxonomy include the presence of a lid-like 18S rDNA data in conjunction with sequence data for operculum (FIG. 1e), which opens to allow zoospore the entire rRNA operon (18S, 28S and 5.8S). These release from a sporangium (Sparrow 1960), and the data provide a comprehensive view of chytrid phylog- apophysis (FIG. 1i), which is a subsporangial swelling. eny and define four major lineages of flagellated Zoospores are unwalled cells, usually 2–10 mm Fungi. diam, which contain a single nucleus and, with the exception of some genera of the Neocallimastigales, MATERIALS AND METHODS are propelled by a single posteriorly oriented whip- lash flagellum (FIG. 1b, m). Considerable effort has Our dataset consists of taxa for which most of the rRNA been placed on understanding the ultrastructure of operon was sequenced (18S+28S+5.8S subunits, n 5 54) as the zoospore with electron microscopy; these studies well as chytrid taxa represented only by 18S data (n 5 49) have produced a wealth of information about the and additional fungal, animal and Mesomycetozoae taxa (n 5 21; complete operon with one exception, Diaphanoeca complexity of the internal contents of the spores. Two grandis). GenBank accession numbers and strain/voucher character-rich components of the zoospores can be data are provided (SUPPLEMENTARY TABLE I). Data gathered identified: the flagellar apparatus, basal bodies and for the full operon were obtained by PCR, primarily with associated structures (Barr 1981), and the microbody- primers SR1R and LR12 (Vilgalys and Hester 1990) using lipid globule complex (MLC, Powell 1978). LATaq (TaKaRa), with these thermocycling conditions: The Chytridiomycota is divided into five orders 94 C for 1 min followed by 35 cycles of denaturing at 94 C based primarily on the mode of reproduction and for 30 s, annealing at 55 C for 30 s, extension at 72 C for ultrastructure of the zoospore. Three groups can be 5 min and a 10 min final extension at 72 C. Amplicons distinguished largely on the basis of life cycle and generally were cloned into pCR2.1-TOPO (Invitrogen). gross morphology: the oogamous Monoblepharidales; The three gene regions were aligned by eye with GeneDoc the Blastocladiales displaying sporic meiosis and the v2.6 (http://www.cris.com/,Ketchup/genedoc.shtml) and combined into one supermatrix with MacClade 4.05 (Maddi- alternation of sporophytic and gametophytic genera- son and Maddison 2002). Regions of ambiguous alignment tions; and the Chytridiales, a group characterized by were excluded from further analysis leaving 4109 included zygotic meiosis. A fourth order, Spizellomycetales, was